Wheat Industry News
Recent news and highlights from around the wheat industry.
Speaking of Wheat: “These [export] customers are making million-dollar purchase decisions based on the data we generate. I know [farmers] are growing for bushels, but they are paying the high price for spring wheat because it has high quality for bread baking applications.” – Senay Simsek, Ph.D., Bert L. D’Appolonia Cereal Science and Technology of Wheat Endowed Professor, North Dakota State University, from an article in Farm and Ranch Guide. Photo above: Dr. Simsek (center) with Japanese wheat customers at a November 2019 reception in Tokyo recognizing the passage of the U.S.-Japan Agreement
“Feed Your Mind” Agriculture Biotechnology Education. On March 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a new education and outreach initiative to inform and broaden understanding about agricultural biotechnology through science-based educational information. The Agency received $7.5 million from congress and has partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make this outreach program possible.
Cuba Still a Wasted Export Opportunity. Paul Johnson, chair of the U.S. Agricultural Coalition for Cuba in an interview with Successful Farming, said this week: “Cuba wants … normalized relations with the U.S. farmers [who] have an advantage in the Cuban market, mainly logistics. We can get product down to Cuba quicker than any other country – in a few days. So not only can we get products there, which reduces the cost to the Cuban buyer, but also we promote the quality of the goods.” USW strongly supports a change in policy toward Cuba and an end to the trade embargo.
Consumer Research on Gene-Edited Food. Several food and agriculture organizations have released a U.S. consumer research study measuring market potential for gene-edited products. “Gene editing … is a relatively new food technology, so we believed it was important to establish a baseline for consumer understanding and how that level of understanding impacts purchasing decisions,” stated Leslie Sarasin, President and CEO of FMI, the Food Industry Association. “We … hope that these research results serve as a path forward for the food and agriculture industries to collaborate and facilitate a better understanding and a common language around gene-edited products.”
2020 National Wheat Yield Contest. On February 18, the National Wheat Foundation (NWF) officially opened the 2020 National Wheat Yield Contest. Farmers can submit entries in winter wheat and spring wheat with subcategories for dryland and irrigated. NWF is accepting entries for winter wheat from April 1 and May 15, and entries for spring wheat from June 15 to August 1.
IGP Institute Milling Courses. The IGP Institute in Manhattan, Kan., has announced a series of milling courses in its upcoming summer schedule, including two Buhler-KSU Executive Milling courses (one in English and on in Spanish), as well as an IAOM-KSU Introduction to Flour Milling course. Click here to register and for more information on these courses.
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